Love Starts As Friendship
by TheAngelsCryInBlood
Summary: Riley's birthday was the worst one he'd ever had because when else could he say when his friends were fighting and his boyfriend was leaving. (Ep. No Matter How You Slice It)


It was one of those moments that Riley thought his boyfriend was absolutely insane as he looked at the sand-dune, and then remembered that New Zealand was the home of extreme sports, so yeah he is.

But it was fun, and he couldn't stop laughing as he slid down the slope, even as he rolled with the others it was still fun, an incredible adrenaline high that made his veins sing in a way only Chase normally could, and that rush went up a notch when the Kiwi hauled him up into a kiss, more tongue then skill that resulted in them being pelted with sand by their friend.

It was a sand war on an epic scale and they'd all be finding sand in places they barely knew they had for a week but it was definitely worth it.

They were shaking off when Shelby realised she'd dropped her phone and the group started searching for it. And Riley went cold all over when the others suddenly started fighting. It was like somebody had flipped a switch, one moment they were their normal caring selves and the next it was like a someone had thrown a load of cats together.

In fact only Koda was acting normally and seemed just as bewildered as he was, what the hell was going on? He was mildly glad to note that the only person Chase wasn't against was him but there was a look in the Kiwi's eye, like he wasn't sure what to think. It hurt when the black ranger didn't help them in the fight, and on his birthday of all days.

It was one of the hardest days of his life especially when the skater said he was leaving, it was like someone had punched him the chest

"Chase, don't please." He gripped the black rangers wrist and watched as his boyfriend went to speak before catching himself and the kiss felt to much like a goodbye as the Kiwi turned and walked away.

"Do not worry Riley, we fix this." Koda assured, gently gripping his shoulder and the swordsman had to believe it with every ounce of his being or he wouldn't be able to keep going. It was selfish of him but them not being rangers was the least of his worries as he turned to the only evidence they had, Shelby's phone and it caused him to have one of the weirdest ideas he'd ever had but he was sure it would work.

Fighting the monster and getting the scissor chuck was the easy part but he almost stopped breathing as he waiting to see if the chargers had worked and he couldn't stop himself kissing the Kiwi like he was his dying breath. Chase's arms were almost bruising around his waist, holding him like a life line.

"Ugh, guys, make up later, there's a few monster we need to deal with first." Tyler called and Riley had never been so satisfied beating the crap out of a monster as he was at that moment, watching the scissor guy get blasted to pieces filled him with a sense of savage victory that almost scared him but he had Chase back so he wasn't complaining.

It was later that night as he checked for a message one last time before making his way down to the base. Today had been so long and all he wanted to do was curl up with Chase and sleep until the slightly hollow feeling in his chest was gone.

He let his energem return to its' place in the wall before realising that it was pitch black in the lair, damn he was off his game.

"How do you turn the lights on in here?" The southerner had never actually seen a light switch before.

As if on cue the lair sprung to life, the whole team shouting surprise and wearing party hats, even Keeper had one, while Koda and Tyler did back flips.

It was the first party he could ever remember having and seeing the video message from his mom and brother made all so much better, not to mention Rubik.

"Hey Baby Raptor." Chase wrapped an arm around his boyfriends shoulders.

"Baby Raptor?" He felt himself flush, both oddly touched and mildly offended.

"Yep, it's that or Clever Girl." Here the blond narrowed his eyes. "You call me Hotshot all the time, this me returning the favour." Chase paused, thinking something over before pulling the green ranger into his arms. "CG."

"CG, I can live with that." The freshly eighteen year old laughed, gently kissing his boyfriend. "I love you Hotshot."

Chase smiled at him, warm and bright, pressing their noses and foreheads together. "I love you too CG."

Absently he knew the others were taking photos of them, smiling and cooing because they were all ship obsessed nerds at heart but right now he couldn't care less about any of that. No instead he happily kissed his boyfriend, glad to have him back.


End file.
